APPENDIX 3
Student Feedback
*Visited Prof. B. Richardson's English 305. Nine students were present. Only one was using the course to fulfill an Advanced GE requirement under the new program. Two mentioned that they were still under the old GS program. Of those present, one each had taken Phys. 111, Biol. 111, and Geog. 111. Only the Biology course seemed to require papers. A number of students had taken Interdisciplinary Courses and gave favorable mention to War and Peace and Human Nature.
*Visited Prof. C. Keene's Philosophy 111. Twenty-two students were present, though three came in late and thus did not participate in the early questioning. The majority (13) were sophomores, three were freshmen, one was a junior, and two were seniors. None planned to major in Philosophy (or any Humanities or Arts field) vs. 1 in the Social Sciences, 4 in the Sciences, 8 in Business, and 6 in other pre-professional fields. Only one was taking or had taken a foreign language at SIUE. Nine planned to choose Skills Option A vs. two for Option B. One was unsure about which way to go, while five (!) didn't know about the Skills Options or were unsure what they were. Seven said they were under the old GS program vs. 8 who said they were under the new GE plan. Twelve reported having taken at least one other 111 course besides Prof. Keene's. All twelve said that they had essay questions on exams, speaking practice in class, and attention paid to their thinking skills in their other 111's. None mentioned any 111-related computer usage, although nine said that they used a PC at least weekly. Everyone reported that they understood the idea behind general education, and nine felt that GE was occurring in the Advanced Courses they were taking or had taken. When asked about SIUE's new GE requirements, however, only 16 said they understood the plan vs. 6 who did not. Questioned on the usefulness of general-education advisement, 10 found it useful vs. 10 who did not. Fully 20 stated that they would rather spend more time taking courses in their fields of special interest without any GE courses whatsoever. When asked for comments, several complained that different teachers emphasized different qualities in writing and that sometimes one teacher would contradict another on a writing point--a source of confusion for the students. On a more positive note, all but four students thought that SIUE faculty really cared about them. Only four felt like "numbers in a book," Of those present, only two identified themselves as transfer students.
*Visited Prof. J. Barker's Phil. 391 (Epistemology). Twelve students were present--3 sophomores, 2 juniors, 5 seniors, and 2 graduate students. Three were Humanities majors, 3 in Business, 2 in Philosophy, and one each in Science, Psych/Ed., Economics, and Mass Communications. Five were studying or had studied a foreign language at college. The general consensus was that GE was essential but that the courses were not uniformly good or well done. Among the students' suggestions for improvement were--(1) train advisors so that all give the same information and don't contradict each other; (2) see to it that the "good professors" rotate through the (111) courses (the consensus was that requiring Advanced Courses as part of GE was a good idea and was working); and (3) work with faculty generally to help them get abstract or technical ideas across clearly to novices.
Note: The instructor in every case left me alone with the students so that they could more freely respond to my questions.
Reynold Feldman June, 1987